New Brunswicker takes 1969 Volvo on 16,000-kilometre road trip to Tuktoyaktuk

Last October, Xavier Theriault accomplished his goal of seeing the Arctic Ocean with his own eyes.

And he did it by driving more than 16,000 kilometres from Halifax to Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., in a car that's more than twice as old as he is.

From July 4 to Oct. 10 of last year, the 23-year-old from Dieppe spent nearly 100 days on a cross-country journey behind the wheel of his 1969 Volvo 144.

Theriault is now sharing his journey in photos online.

His adventure came with the highs, such as making new friends, and seeing some of the most rugged and untouched terrain in all of Canada.

And it came with the lows, which included the countless times the 53-year-old car broke down, as well as the nights spent sleeping in a tent in sub-zero temperatures.

But thanks to his own mechanical handiness, and help from strangers along the way, Theriault rolled into Tuktoyaktuk on Oct. 10 after safely making it through the notorious Dempster Highway.

"I just didn't know how I'd feel, but when I arrived there, man, I called my parents, and I think to be honest, I think I actually, like, bawled for 10 or 15 minutes," he said in an interview Friday.

"It was such an emotional moment for me because for almost 100 days now, I was on the road, you know, sleeping in minus 15, minus 20 almost, you know, hungry, sometimes just swearing, laying under my car trying to get something working. ... And like all of that emotion built up inside of me, and I think I just let it all go when I [got] there, and it was like the biggest weight off my shoulders."

Car trouble from day of purchase

Theriault said he always had a passion for cars, which he inherited from his father, and in 2019, bought the Volvo from a man on P.E.I., despite it breaking down during the test drive.

After getting it running and bringing it back to Dieppe, Theriault said the car's transmission gave out, and the car sat in his parents' yard for about two years.

By spring 2021, Theriault, who was an architecture student at the time, said he was feeling unfulfilled by online classes brought on by the pandemic and decided to take a year off school.

So he turned his attention to the old Volvo and spent that spring overhauling it with the plan to drive it from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arctic Ocean.

Equipped with a new transmission and motor, Theriault said he tested its abilities by first taking a trip to Halifax, and then hitting the highway going west.

"It was all about experiencing my own country, so a lot of times I would go out of my way to get off the Trans-Canada and even take the side roads or even go to the little towns, stay for a few days and meet the people to see how it is and what people do in different provinces."

After making it to Tuktoyaktuk, Theriault stayed two days, including having Thanksgiving dinner with a family that took him in, before heading back.

The car, however, had other plans and broke in British Columbia, where he ended up staying with a friend before eventually settling in Whistler, where he's working at a ski resort.

He said he plans to head back to New Brunswick when the snow melts, and in the meantime, is working on the car and skiing.

Theriault said despite there being a few rough patches along the journey, it offered an experience he'll hold on to for the rest of his life.

"My biggest takeaway is just follow your dreams. It sounds so corny, but I mean, I think this trip totally changed my life because now it's changed my perspective on travelling — it's more accessible in my mind now. And I made long-term, long-lasting friendships."